Religion and politics Books

Book SynopsisThe 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been called one of the most powerful documents in human history. Today, the mere accusation of violations of the rights outlined in this document cows political leaders and riles the international community. Yet as a nonbinding document with no mechanism for enforcement, it holds almost no legal authority. Indeed, since its adoption, the Declaration''s authority has been portrayed not as legal or political but as moral. Rather than providing a set of rules to follow or laws to obey, it represents a set of standards against which the world''s societies are measured. It has achieved a level of rhetorical power and influence unlike anything else in modern world politics, becoming the foundational myth of the human rights project.Seeing the Myth in Human Rights presents an interdisciplinary investigation into the role of mythmaking in the creation and propagation of the Universal Declaration. Pushing beyond conventional undTrade Review"Seeing the Myth of Human Rights offers good philosophical and historical understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; each chapter is both its own piece of scholarship and builds seamlessly upon others. Reinbold's work is thoughtful and sophisticated, and provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the myth of human rights." * Human Rights Review *"Jenna Reinbold explores the role of mythology in the assertion of human rights discourse and offers an original, profound, and provocative contribution to debates on foundationalism in human rights, on the politics of human rights, and on the relationship between the sacred and the secular in international politics." * Bronwyn Leebaw, University of California, Riverside *"Seeing the Myth in Human Rights is an important work that is sharp but open-minded. Jenna Reinbold links the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the notion of myth, not to debunk the human rights project but to illuminate the best-known legal, moral, and political document of the twentieth century." * Alexandre Lefebvre, University of Sydney *

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Book SynopsisIslamist political parties and groups are on the rise throughout the Muslim world, constituting a new political Islam that is global in scope and yet local in action. Emmanuel Karagiannis explains how various Islamists have endorsed human rights, democracy, and justice to gain influence and mobilize supporters.Trade Review"Karagiannis' The New Political Islam is not only an informative reading. It addresses an issue of immediate interest in modern culture, namely an increasing tension between Western philosophy and Islam. Thus, even readers less interested in learning about Islamist groups around the world may be interested to discover how Islam changes and adjusts to the world of today. Furthermore, it is difficult to overestimate the influence of globalization on different countries. However, applying its principles to for the task of understanding the new Political Islam is innovative. In addition, understanding this religion is the best way to avoid the hostility of politicians depicting Islam as the enemy. The New Political Islam helps broaden the reader's horizons." * Political Theology. *"The New Political Islam examines the phenomenon of political Islam and its transformations using the lens of glocalization, a distinct strand of social theory focusing on the processes through which global ideas are adapted, applied, and transformed in local contexts . . . [T]his is a sophisticated, erudite, and illuminating book. It is a necessary read for anyone who wishes to explore the persistent relevance of political developments in the contemporary Islamic world." * Reading Religion *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[An] important book…[that] deserves a wide readership. It is meticulously researched and superbly written." * Journal of American History *"Kirkpatrick's Gospel for the Poor is groundbreaking in its identification of transnational flows of evangelical thought and argument for the influence of Latin America on evangelical understandings of social mission. Its deep studies of the complex relationships between U.S. and Latin American leaders is a useful model for historians of missions and postcolonial churches." * H-DIPLO *"A Gospel for the Poor makes several important historiographical and methodological interventions into how the story of global evangelicalism ought to be told. Any scholar or student of world Christianities, contemporary evangelicalism, transnationalism, or social theologies will find this book interesting and important to their understanding of global Christian movements and networks." * Reading Religion *"Featuring impressive research in multiple languages, important historical recovery from the archives, theological nuance, and attention to context, A Gospel for the Poor captures perfectly the complexities of far-flung global evangelical relationships in the Cold War era." * David R. Swartz, author of Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism *Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations Introduction. Toward a Gospel for the Poor Chapter 1. A New Style of Evangelicalism from Latin America Chapter 2. Revolutionary Ferment Chapter 3. Cold War Christianity Chapter 4. Deporting American Evangelicalism Chapter 5. Marketing Social Christianity Chapter 6. Crossing Boundaries Chapter 7. The Reshaping of Global Evangelicalism Conclusion. A Global Reach Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisRefuting the common perception that the American left has a religion problem, Vaneesa Cook highlights an important but overlooked intellectual and political tradition that she calls spiritual socialism. Spiritual socialists emphasized the social side of socialism and believed the most basic expression of religious values-caring for the sick, tired, hungry, and exploited members of one's community-created a firm footing for society. Their unorthodox perspective on the spiritual and cultural meaning of socialist principles helped make leftist thought more palatable to Americans, who associated socialism with Soviet atheism and autocracy. In this way, spiritual socialism continually put pressure on liberals, conservatives, and Marxists to address the essential connection between morality and social justice. Cook tells her story through an eclectic group of activists whose lives and works span the twentieth century. Sherwood Eddy, A. J. Muste, Myles Horton, Dorothy Day, Henry Wallace, PaTrade Review"[I]n her thought-provoking new book . . . Cook finds in the past ample evidence that the intersection of Christianity and radicalism in the modern United States has been quite bustling . . . Cook has done . . . a tremendous service . . . in lifting up a spiritual-socialist tradition that has languished too long in obscurity." * Christianity Today *"Spiritual Socialists should fundamentally change the way we tell the story of the twentieth-century Left.. In [Cook's] careful retelling, the 1930s–1950s were generative years for radicalism in the United States....The book, which is an intellectual history of the major figures of the religious left, makes a number of important contributions. " * Journal of Church and State *"In this bold, incisive book, Vaneesa Cook makes an important contribution to the growing body of scholarship on the American ‘Religious Left.’ She argues that the most effective movements of the political left in the twentieth-century United States were thoroughly suffused with religious values… Cook’s study makes a compelling argument that religion has profoundly shaped American society, not merely guiding radical politics but being inextricably embedded in them." * American Religion *"Writing gracefully and powerfully, Vaneesa Cook draws on her understanding of history to speak to today's concerns without jargon or cant. Spiritual Socialists is a sweeping and refreshingly independent contribution to the study of the religious left in the modern United States." * Doug Rossinow, author of Visions of Progress: The Left-Liberal Tradition in America *"This is a courageous book. At a time when elected officials in the highest public offices refer to one another by offensive nicknames and attribute to each other the most self-seeking motives, and groups on the Left often attack each other in rigidly ideological invective, Vaneesa Cook seeks to recover 'the moral core of socialist belief.' She does so by examining the work of a group of figures, among them Dorothy Day, Sherwood Eddy, A. J. Muste, Myles Horton, Henry Wallace, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Pauli Murray. Her work exhibits diligence and empathy." * Staughton Lynd, author of Doing History from the Bottom Up: On E.P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A]n excellent new work of scholarship...Zubovich shines light on a dim corner of recent American history: the integral role that liberal, ecumenical Protestant leaders played in American liberalism in the mid-20th century, along with the underappreciated ways they helped drive the polarization that broke apart the mainline, opened the way for the Religious Right, and shaped our present moment." * Christianity Today *"Before the Religious Right is sweeping in its breadth as historian Gene Zubovich examines the alliance between midcentury ecumenical Protestants and liberal politics in the United States. While dozens of books have examined conservative religion and politics in the United States, Zubovich's book argues for the importance of ecumenical religious institutions and activists in the rise of the consensus liberalism." * New Rambler Review *"[An] essential work...In this extensively detailed, impeccably researched, powerfully argued book, Gene Zubovich contends that a particular form of ecumenical Protestantism 'was at the heart of mid-century liberalism.'" * Reading Religion *"Epic is a word rarely used in the same sentence as 'ecumenical Protestantism,' but Gene Zubovich has written a truly epic account of how ecumenical Protestantism transformed American politics between the 1920s and 1970s." * The Christian Century *"[A]n intellectual, religious, and transnational history of American ecumenical Protestants in the middle of the twentieth century. Well written and clearly argued, the book explores the intersection of race, religion, and rights for what are often described as mainline Protestants." * H-Diplo *"[A]n exhaustive profile of how mainline Protestant theology influenced views on diverse issues including human rights, segregation, and economic policy in the period from the 1920s through the early 1960s..[T]he book is a thorough account of how mainline Protestant theology influenced US and world events during the mid-twentieth century. " * Perspectives on Politics *"Before the Religious Right is well written and accessible. It is bold in its argumentative scope yet thorough in its supporting evidence...It should become required reading for anyone interested in the connections between religion and US liberalism as well as religion and US conservatism. In fact, this book’s methodological insights should be useful for anyone thinking about how to connect the structure of religious communities with their historical impact." * American Religion *"[A] powerful reconsideration of the assumed relationship between American Protestant Christianity and twentieth-century politics...Before the Religious Right is a trenchant examination of an overlooked dimension of American religion and politics; it is amuch-needed reminder of the impact that twentieth-century liberal Protestants had on international political institutions, on the dismantling of legal segregation in America, and on the establishment of human rights discourse." * The Review of Politics *"Zubovich’s account of how ecumenical Protestants pushed the national political agenda to the left on economics, foreign policy, and civil rights is insightful, but his analysis of why ecumenical Protestants came to embrace these causes is perhaps even more pathbreaking...Although there have been several studies of the political activism of the National Council of Churches and the civil rights work of liberal white Protestant ministers in the mid-twentieth century, Before the Religious Right is by far the most comprehensive, detailed, authoritative study of American ecumenical Protestant politics that has yet been published. This is the definitive account not only of how ecumenical Protestant church leaders shaped American liberalism but also how they came to embrace these causes." * Church History *"[A]n impressive addition to scholarship that contributes to understanding of the link between religion and politics and documents the relationship between liberal Protestant institutions and the creation of the liberal politicalorder in the United States. This historical narrative is critical to understanding the history of the New Deal, the creation of the United Nations, desegregation, and the Great Society...One hopes that Before the Religious Right will find an audience not just with scholars but with anyone who wants to understand how religious groups have shaped American political life. " * Journal of Law and Religion *"In his ambitious, absorbing, much-anticipated book, Gene Zubovich shows how midcentury liberal Protestants in the United States used changes in the international system and domestic race relations to forge a new human-rights discourse for a global age. Zubovich’s writing is elegant, his extensive research is deeply impressive, his focus is broad but cohesive, and his historiographical contributions are significant. Before the Religious Right is an important book that will be essential reading for anyone interested in American religion, politics, or foreign relations." * Andrew Preston, author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy *"In this beautifully nuanced and carefully researched account, Gene Zubovich puts religious history at the center of the history of human rights. He does so in ways that acknowledge the ambiguity and complexity of human rights politics, while restoring the centrality of Protestant liberals to a transnational history of activism that linked challenges to white supremacy (at home and abroad), debates over economic justice, and critiques of U.S. foreign policy. This is not only one of the best histories of Protestant liberalism we have, it also thoroughly revises historians’ accounts of the role of the United States in the world from the 1920s to the 1960s. An outstanding work of scholarship." * Melani McAlister, author of The Kingdom of God Has No Borders: A Global History of American Evangelicals *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Well researched and to provide a rich account of the experiences of two communities of Muslim Americans after September 11 without being too generalizing or overreaching." — American Journal of Sociology "Saher Selod makes a major contribution to conversations around anti-Muslim sentiment by focusing on the way gender impacts not only how Muslims are profiled and policed, but also how Muslims’ response to surveillance is gendered. She provides a clear, well-organized, and nuanced account of Arab and South Asian Muslims’ unstable relationship with power, privilege, and citizenship in the United States post-9/11. Selod’s work forces scholars and activists to move past a one-size-fits-all approach to dismantling anti-Muslim racism, instead recognizing the importance of intersectionality."— American Religion "Selod skillfully blends decades of survey data with recent ethnographic research, drawing on personal interviews she conducted with family members and interview subjects in the metropolitan areas of Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. Selod carefully lays out the political and economic context of the US 'war on terror' and provides useful historical perspective on the status and experience of Arab and South Asian immigrants within the US, prior to and after September 2001. Selod does a particularly astute job of illuminating the rhetorical processes by which Muslim men and women have been constructed as threatening and/or threatened bodies."— TDR "Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub— Chronicle of Higher Education "This is the book we’ve been waiting for. Scholars of Muslim Americans have long needed a rigorous study of how Muslims get racialized during the War on Terror. Saher Selod has not only provided us with the answers we were seeking but importantly shows how this racialization is both profoundly gendered and deeply institutionalized into today’s surveillance state. A necessary book for our time."— Moustafa Bayoumi, author of This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror "There is a deep-seated stigmatization of Muslims in the U.S. today. Forever Suspect offers a portrait of this stigmatization and also offers a framework for understanding its character. Selod's work is a fine addition to the sociology of race and ethnicity, immigration, and the Muslim American experience."— Nazli Kibria, author of Muslims in Motion: Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi DiasporaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Moving from South Asian and Arab Identity to a Muslim Identity 2 Flying While Muslim: State Surveillance of Muslim Americans in US Airports 3 Citizen Surveillance 4 Self-Discipline or Resistance?: Muslim American Men and Women’s Responses to their Hyper Surveillance 5 Shifting Racial Terrain for Muslim Americans: The Impact of Racialized Surveillance Conclusion: The Future for Muslims in America Appendix A Acknowledgments References Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Well researched and to provide a rich account of the experiences of two communities of Muslim Americans after September 11 without being too generalizing or overreaching." — American Journal of Sociology "Saher Selod makes a major contribution to conversations around anti-Muslim sentiment by focusing on the way gender impacts not only how Muslims are profiled and policed, but also how Muslims’ response to surveillance is gendered. She provides a clear, well-organized, and nuanced account of Arab and South Asian Muslims’ unstable relationship with power, privilege, and citizenship in the United States post-9/11. Selod’s work forces scholars and activists to move past a one-size-fits-all approach to dismantling anti-Muslim racism, instead recognizing the importance of intersectionality."— American Religion "Selod skillfully blends decades of survey data with recent ethnographic research, drawing on personal interviews she conducted with family members and interview subjects in the metropolitan areas of Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. Selod carefully lays out the political and economic context of the US 'war on terror' and provides useful historical perspective on the status and experience of Arab and South Asian immigrants within the US, prior to and after September 2001. Selod does a particularly astute job of illuminating the rhetorical processes by which Muslim men and women have been constructed as threatening and/or threatened bodies."— TDR "Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub— Chronicle of Higher Education "This is the book we’ve been waiting for. Scholars of Muslim Americans have long needed a rigorous study of how Muslims get racialized during the War on Terror. Saher Selod has not only provided us with the answers we were seeking but importantly shows how this racialization is both profoundly gendered and deeply institutionalized into today’s surveillance state. A necessary book for our time."— Moustafa Bayoumi, author of This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror "There is a deep-seated stigmatization of Muslims in the U.S. today. Forever Suspect offers a portrait of this stigmatization and also offers a framework for understanding its character. Selod's work is a fine addition to the sociology of race and ethnicity, immigration, and the Muslim American experience."— Nazli Kibria, author of Muslims in Motion: Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi DiasporaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Moving from South Asian and Arab Identity to a Muslim Identity 2 Flying While Muslim: State Surveillance of Muslim Americans in US Airports 3 Citizen Surveillance 4 Self-Discipline or Resistance?: Muslim American Men and Women’s Responses to their Hyper Surveillance 5 Shifting Racial Terrain for Muslim Americans: The Impact of Racialized Surveillance Conclusion: The Future for Muslims in America Appendix A Acknowledgments References Index

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Book SynopsisWhile the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism.Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this workfrom pastors and congregationaTrade ReviewRooted in scripture and transcendent faith, and defying the staid expectations of analysts and pundits--this is why faithful activism will always be more interesting than a candidates' debate. -- Julie Polter * Sojourners Magazine *Prophetic Activism could be called & Groups That Make a Difference, like Sider and Unruh’s Churches That Make a Difference. It stands out because it analyzes change-groups with goals ranging from worker justice to immigrant rights, peacemaking, and global justice, identifying strategies that bring healing to a nation whose soul badly needs healing. Enormously instructive for people who know we need change for human rights in a big way, one victory at a time. This work shows that Evangelicals, too, have become increasingly active, with crucial biblical interpretation. -- Glen Stassen * Fuller Theological Seminary *Prophetic Activism provides an informative portrait of left-leaning religious activism. Those who want to better understand what that activism looks likeits major organizations, its strategies and tactics, its similarities to and differences from secular activism, and, most importantly, its potential and limitswill learn much by reading this book. -- Mark Chaves,author of Congregations in AmericaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 An Introduction to Prophetic Activism 2 Identifying the Qualities of Prophetic Activism 3 Organizing in Borderlands Communities 4 Religious Organizing for Worker Justice 5 Immigrant Rights Activism 6 Peacemaking 7 Global Justice Organizing 8 Conclusions Notes Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisWhile the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism.Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this workfrom pastors and congregationaTrade ReviewRooted in scripture and transcendent faith, and defying the staid expectations of analysts and pundits--this is why faithful activism will always be more interesting than a candidates' debate. -- Julie Polter * Sojourners Magazine *Prophetic Activism could be called & Groups That Make a Difference, like Sider and Unruh’s Churches That Make a Difference. It stands out because it analyzes change-groups with goals ranging from worker justice to immigrant rights, peacemaking, and global justice, identifying strategies that bring healing to a nation whose soul badly needs healing. Enormously instructive for people who know we need change for human rights in a big way, one victory at a time. This work shows that Evangelicals, too, have become increasingly active, with crucial biblical interpretation. -- Glen Stassen * Fuller Theological Seminary *Prophetic Activism provides an informative portrait of left-leaning religious activism. Those who want to better understand what that activism looks likeits major organizations, its strategies and tactics, its similarities to and differences from secular activism, and, most importantly, its potential and limitswill learn much by reading this book. -- Mark Chaves,author of Congregations in AmericaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 An Introduction to Prophetic Activism 2 Identifying the Qualities of Prophetic Activism 3 Organizing in Borderlands Communities 4 Religious Organizing for Worker Justice 5 Immigrant Rights Activism 6 Peacemaking 7 Global Justice Organizing 8 Conclusions Notes Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisTraces the historical significance of the rise and development of black theology as an important conversation partner for the black church.Trade ReviewThe book reads as an altar call to action that honors the liberationist roots of a global church community, regardless of race or gender. * Publishers Weekly *Resilient in its hope and perceptive in its analysis, this book makes a valuable contribution to imagining a liberation-focused ecclesiology. * Ecumenical Review *The Divided Mind of the Black Church is an informative work for historians, theologians, and humanities scholars interested in debating what the Black Church needs to be doing in the 21st century. * Journal of African American History *Raphael G. Warnock's The Divided Mind of the Black Church is not only a scholarly monograph but also an autobiographical work on the pietistic and prophetic traditions of the black church. * Black Theology *Warnock weaves together an impressive array of subjects to advance his argument on the & divided mind of the black church.His introduction, five chapters, and conclusion provide much in structure and content for the advancement of his burden, namely, the construction of a & self-critical liberationist community where & piety and protest may be held in balance. * Sociology of Religion *This well-written and meticulously researched treatment of black church piety and social engagement is a timely and pivotal assessment as we head into the next chapter of American religious life. * The Christian Century *As a person who is not Black, reading this book provided a learning experience for me. It has helped me better understand the dynamics of the Black church. I could also see this book serving as a way to spark discussion involving all ethnic groups as to how we can all, as fellow Christians, blend the goals of saving lost people and moving the culture toward equality for everyone. * Ministry *Embodied in this book is the sharpness of mind of one with an earned Ph.D. in theological studies and the human compassion of a pastor of one of the major churches in the United States. Rarely, if at all, do we get to relish such combined matters of the head and heart. Moreover, this groundbreaking work is rooted in deep spirituality and progressive commitment to the Bible. The ponderings in these pages echo the insightful eyes of the prophetic mystic, Howard Thurman and the scholarly activism of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Dwight N. Hopkins,editor of The Cambridge Companion to Black TheologyRaphael Warnock's The Divided Mind of the Black Church is a courageous and timely effort to reinvigorate the rich tradition of the Black Church by a full-fledged engagement with the best of its history and theology. Like the Sankofa bird, he looks to the past in order to move forward! -- Cornel West,Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological SeminaryEloquently lays waste to the false theological dilemma between advocates of individual salvation and social justice. Real religion is both personal and political; Warnock skillfully shows how that works by probing creative tensions in the black church between heavenly hunger and earthly engagement. He brilliantly enhances the distinguished intellectual achievement of the historic Ebenezer pulpit by showing how black and womanist theologies partner with the black church to bring God's mighty word to bear on our souls and society all at once. -- Michael Eric Dyson,University Professor of Sociology, Georgetown UniversityRaphael Warnock demonstrates in this book that he is a worthy occupant of the Ebenezer pulpit, following in the intellectual tradition of Martin King and his mentor, Dr. Benjamin Mays. It was faith that led us to activism. Whether one is looking to understand the foundation of civil rights, to understand the role of faith in our public life or seeking to understand a personal call to serve, this book will be enlightening. -- Andrew Young,former U.N. Ambassador, Mayor of Atlanta and Executive Vice President of SCLCRaphael Warnock is known as one of the most brilliant orators of his generation. This excellent new book reveals him to be a brilliant scholar as well. It is the first major work to critically explore the 'double-minded' relationship between the social practice of black churches and the radical implications of their historical witness against the social oppression of the black masses. Warnocks path-breaking periodization of the social activism of the black church is a major contribution to understanding the role of black churches in this nations often stumbling march toward a racially just society. . . . The Divided Mind of the Black Church is a must read for every black pastor, theologian, scholar, and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the history and political culture of black churches and the expanding contours of black theological scholarship. -- Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.,author of The Universe Bends Toward JusticeRaphael Warnock, a son of Pentecostal preachers, a theological protégée of James Cone, and pulpit heir of Martin Luther King, Jr., is brilliantly conversant with the ivory tower of academia, yet works in the ebony trenches for justice and the liberation of the 'least of these.' In this literary gift he has insightfully traced the ecclesial and theological journey of the Black Church in America, diagnosing a 'double consciousness' that borders on bipolarity. He prophetically pronounces liberation from captivity to a borrowed oppressive theology that is illustrated by Black pastors who have a picture of Dr. King in the study, but are influenced by Rick Warren when they preach from the pulpit. This scholar-prophet-pastor, in this wonderful work, is presiding over a wedding ceremony, uniting in holy wedlock, piety and protest, the scholarship of liberation and womanist scholars and the ministry and pulpit of the Black Church, with the hope that this marriage will birth a 'new moment of a self critical liberating community.' This family of freedom and faith proposed by Dr. Warnock will usher in that day when 'justice rolls down like waters and righteousness as an ever flowing stream.' -- Frederick D. Haynes III,Senior Pastor, Friendship-West Baptist ChurchAs we celebrate the life of the most famous black pastor, Martin Luther King Jr., we should remember that the black church mission connects faith with justice and personal salvation with social transformation, and addresses personal piety and public policy for the well-being of the whole person and the whole community. It fights for the weak and sees the Gospel as 'good news for the poor.' -- Raphael G. Warnock,CNNRefusing to be content with the piety or protest divide between the Black Church and Black Theology, Warnock argues with scholarly rigor and pastoral fire for a vital partnership between the two. As a dedicated pastor and astute theologian, Warnock persuasively argues for a fifth movement in the Black Christian traditiona self-critical liberationist community that represents a public theology founded on the pietistic and liberationist dimensions of the Church. This is a must read for clergy, laity, and the academy. -- Emilie M. Townes,Dean and Professor of Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Divinity SchoolThe broadness and depth of Warnock's theological education and his distinguished pulpit give him the authority to ask the question: piety or protest? Warnock leads us through the history of the tensions and conversations among the black church, black theology and black pastors to boldly change this question into an exclamatory indicative: piety and protest. He admonishes all parties to move beyond the silos of their particular perspective to convene for the broader exchange of ideas, enabling us to fulfill our mission of helping to save the black community and the soul of our nation. -- James A. Forbes Jr.,Senior Pastor Emeritus, Riverside ChurchThis contribution to the enduring subject of piety and protest in black theological discourse is of special importance because it is written from the vantage point of one who stands in the gapa competent theologian with a pastoral vocationvalidating his craft in the trenches of social justice advocacy and community transformation. -- Cheryl J. Sanders,Howard University School of DivinityWarnock carefully traces the history and evolution of the independent black church in America, moving from the black church as a bastion against slavery all the way to the role Ebenezer Baptist and other black churches played in the Civil Rights Movement. He asserts that the black church's roots are in the battle for social liberation of black people, rooted in a progressive understanding of the life and message of Jesus Christ. -- Mark Reynolds * Popmatters *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Gospel of Liberation: Black Christian Resistance Prior to Black Theology 2. The Gospel's Meaning and the Black Church's Mission 3. Black Theologians on the Mission of the Black Church 4. Black Pastors on the Mission of the Black Church 5. Womanist Theologians on the Mission of the Black Church Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisExamines the Muslim Brotherhood’s internal debates on preaching, activism, and social reform from the 1980s to the 2000s. In doing so, Sumita Pahwa finds that the framing of political work as ethical conduct has been critical to the organisation’s functioning.Trade ReviewSubstantive and methodological. Pahwa makes good use of the Arabic secondary sources about the Muslim Brotherhood in addition to analyzing primary Arabic-language material." - Samer Shehata, Colin Mackey and Patricia Molina de Mackey Associate Professor of Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma

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Book SynopsisExamines the Muslim Brotherhood’s internal debates on preaching, activism, and social reform from the 1980s to the 2000s. In doing so, Sumita Pahwa finds that the framing of political work as ethical conduct has been critical to the organisation’s functioning.Trade ReviewSubstantive and methodological. Pahwa makes good use of the Arabic secondary sources about the Muslim Brotherhood in addition to analyzing primary Arabic-language material." - Samer Shehata, Colin Mackey and Patricia Molina de Mackey Associate Professor of Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma

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Book SynopsisChronicles and analyzes the remarkable changes that occurred in the Christian Right from its emergence in the late 1970s through the 1980s.Trade ReviewFair and accurate. - Christian Booksellers Association Journal ""Highly readable, well-documented.... Moen chronicles the changes that took place in the Christian Right which began in the mid-1980s. Moen argues that an increasingly political environment led to changes in the tactics of the Christian Right.... Perhaps more importantly, the rhetoric associated with the movement shifted from a strong religious emphasis in the style of a jeremiad to a more liberal focus on individual rights and choices. An excellent work, [that] must be read by anyone interested in the nature of religious politics in the United States. Moen has provided a framework and a chronology which will be extremely useful."" - Review of Religious Research ""Moen's account will, undoubtedly remain one of the very best contributions to the study of the American Christian Right."" - American Politics Review

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Book SynopsisWhen an independent Poland reappeared on the map of Europe after World War I, it was widely regarded as the most Catholic country on the continent. Yet the relations of the Second Polish Republic with the Church proved far more difficult than expected.Trade Review“It is impossible to summarize the complex history that unfolds with gripping tension and wonderful detail in Professor Pease’s marvelous book…. Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter is a riveting read that combines an engaging style with academic rigor. It should travel easily beyond the confines of academe and grace the bookshelves of anyone interested in Poland, in the Vatican, in church-state relations, and the ambitions, friendships and rivalries of men and institutions.” * The Cosmopolitan Review *“This excellent book is highly recommended for those interested in the history of Poland, interwar Europe, the Catholic Church, and World War II. It also has important things to say about church-state relations, namely, that even in a country celebrated for its Catholicity, relations between church and state can be complex and troubled.” * Slavic Review *“I have no doubt that this monograph (Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter) is set to become the standard work on the topic.” * Canadian Slavonic Papers *A “subtle and sophisticated scholarly study…. Pease’s study is impressively grounded in archival and printed sources and reflects a mastery of the secondary literature. Very well written, it is an authoritative work that corrects conventional wisdom.” * Church History *“Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter is elegantly written, scrupulously researched, and persuasively argued. Above all, it manages to strike a rare balance while dealing with a topic that is replete with polemical landmines…. This book will offer revelations even for specialists in Polish history, but its audience should extend far beyond that subfield to encompass anyone interested in the history of Catholicism in modern Europe.” * The Catholic Historical Review *“Making clear what actually happened in and to Poland between the wars, Pease provides an insightful contribution to understanding the major issues faced by Europe. Each of the nine chapters is admirably clear, often eloquent, and well informed…. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” * Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries *“Neal Pease’s minutely researched Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter is not just first-class political history earning its place among the best of the type. It is a detailed recounting of the four-way dance between socialist leader Pilsudski, a Catholic nuncio (Msgr. Achille Ratti, later Pope Pius XI) who liked him and could overlook his peccadillos, a right-wing Polish hierarchy that detested Pilsudski and did not entirely trust Ratti to seek Poland’s best interests, and a Vatican papacy that needed its ‘most faithful daughter’ far more than most people realized…. (A) superbly researched and highly enlightening book.” * National Catholic Reporter *“Historians and academics will value the substantial amount of information on this fragile time in Poland.” * Polish American Journal *

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Book SynopsisBetween the Brown and the Red captures the multifaceted nature of church-state relations in communist Poland, relations that oscillated between mutual confrontation, accommodation, and dialogue. Ironically, under communism the bond between religion and nation in Poland grew stronger. This happened in spite of the fact that the government deployed nationalist themes in order to portray itself as more Polish than communist. Between the Brown and the Red also introduces one of the most fascinating figures in the history of twentieth-century Poland and the communist world.In this study of the complex relationships between nationalism, communism, authoritarianism, and religion in twentieth-century Poland, Mikolaj Kunicki shows the ways in which the country's communist rulers tried to adapt communism to local traditions, particularly ethnocentric nationalism and Catholicism. Focusing on the political career of Boleslaw Piasecki, a Polish nationalist politician who began his surprisiTrade Review“Employing excellent archival research and deft writing, Kunicki weaves the complex saga [of Boleslaw Piasecki’s career] into an analysis of the relationship between authoritarianism, nationalism, communism, and religion in Poland over the decades to the present postcommunist nation…. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” * Choice *“Mikołaj Stanisław Kunicki has written a magnificent political biography of Bolesław Piasecki…. This book will be required reading for any historian of modern Poland and should also appeal to anyone interested in nationalism, communism, the political Right in the twentieth century, the nature of totalitarianism in postwar Eastern Europe, and the persistence of prewar fascist strands in the communist East (hence the book’s title)…. This is an extremely well-researched, wellconceptualized, and original work.” * American Historical Review *“This is an original, thought provoking, often deliberately provocative book, based on a wealth of archival and published sources. It is, as well, a pleasure to read. Between the Brown and the Red takes its place as one of the best studies of the complex relationship of Catholicism and politics in recent Polish history.” * Cosmopolitan Review *“Kunicki provides a concise political history of Poland and its significant leaders. Piasecki, while not a major leader, contributed from the very beginnings of Poland’s turbulent times with a taste of freedom following World War I up to his death in 1979…. This biography, one of the few in English, will be a welcome addition to Polish American historians.” * Polish American Journal *

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Book SynopsisPreaching Prevention examines the controversial U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative to “abstain and be faithful” as a primary prevention strategy in Africa.Trade Review“A fascinating, fresh, original ethnography of born-again Christians in Kampala, Uganda.”“Boyd examines in particular the experiences of Ugandan born-again Christians promoting abstinence and faithfulness programs … PEPFAR spent $278 million [there] in 2014, which was equal to about three-fourths of what the Ugandan government spent on health overall that same year. In other words, Boyd is studying the critical player in public health provision in Uganda. Boyd’s book seems particularly relevant for the newly created LGBT Rapid Response Fund, as it includes a chapter about Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.” * Washington Post online *“[A] robust contribution to AIDS discourse in Africa.” * African Studies Quarterly *“This book, in general, is a very fine analysis of Ugandan attitudes to sexual practice, in the light of the AIDS prevention campaign. It is thorough and illuminating. … The book is superb as a sociological/anthropological account of born-again Christianity. … I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it for its penetrating analysis and insight.” * Journal of Church and State *“Boyd places Christian concerns about HIV/AIDS transmission and same-sex unions in Uganda in an ethnographic and historical perspective that will richly enhance discussions of rights and accountability.”

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Book SynopsisPursuing Justice in Africa focuses on visions of justice across the African continent, featuring essays that engage with topics at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship across a wide range of disciplines including activism, land tenure, international legal institutions, and post-conflict reconciliation.Trade Review“The diverse essays, many by African scholars, make this an essential collection on a topic just beginning to animate African studies. Outstanding in their well-balanced combination of ethnography and theory, they thoroughly contextualize their topic. The contrast between the local and the international alone that this well-thought-out book illuminates is valuable.”“This important volume asks us to step back and reconsider current processes for seeking justice—for righting wrongs, holding criminals accountable for their crimes, and fostering harmony—and to ask what should always have been the first question: what are the meanings individuals and communities attach to ‘justice’? Or, indeed, is there anything like ‘justice’ in Africa that can equate to the many, differing definitions of justice in the West?”“This is an impactful, powerful, well-written book for scholars who are deconstructing the concept of justice within an African context. This book adds an emboldened voice to the current literature and affirms the position that more needs to be done to address the inequalities within vulnerable groups such as women and children in Africa.” * African Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisGoing beyond the headlines, including the group’s 2014 abduction of 276 girls in Chibok and the ensuing international outrage, Boko Haram provides readers new to the conflict with a clearly written and comprehensive history of how the group came to be, the Nigerian government’s failed efforts to end it, and its impact on ordinary citizens.Trade Review[This] nimble short history … stands out for a section on creative responses to the group in literature and television. It also explores how the conflict’s intractability has given rise to a thick culture of conspiracy theories, propelled by social media…. Kendhammer and McCain trace the conspiratorial mindset to a history of Nigerian government corruption. Nigeria, they show, deals with the same vexations of fake news as the rest of the globalized world, but via its own particular history. * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisIn this conceptual history, Nicole Eggers argues that practitioners of the Congolese religious movement Kitawala can be understood as intellectuals, innovators, and vital participants in the construction and use of power. Eggers also explores the relationship between healing and violence in their frequently gendered central African manifestations.Trade ReviewUnruly Ideas is an original, refreshing, one-of-a-kind study about power, invisible and holistic power. How Congolese Kitawalists displayed 'intellectual agency' and challenged European 'hoarders of power' by carving out their own political space and by availing themselves of religious and thaumaturgic possibilities is at the heart of Nicole Eggers’s fine-grained narrative. -- Ch. Didier Gondola, author of Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in KinshasaNicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research. -- David M. Gordon, author of Invisible Agents: Spirits in a Central African History“Nicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research.”“This is an original and one-of-a-kind study that historians, anthropologists, and political scientists will find quite rewarding.”

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Book SynopsisIn this conceptual history, Nicole Eggers argues that practitioners of the Congolese religious movement Kitawala can be understood as intellectuals, innovators, and vital participants in the construction and use of power. Eggers also explores the relationship between healing and violence in their frequently gendered central African manifestations.Trade ReviewUnruly Ideas is an original, refreshing, one-of-a-kind study about power, invisible and holistic power. How Congolese Kitawalists displayed 'intellectual agency' and challenged European 'hoarders of power' by carving out their own political space and by availing themselves of religious and thaumaturgic possibilities is at the heart of Nicole Eggers’s fine-grained narrative. -- Ch. Didier Gondola, author of Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in KinshasaNicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research. -- David M. Gordon, author of Invisible Agents: Spirits in a Central African History“Nicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research.”“This is an original and one-of-a-kind study that historians, anthropologists, and political scientists will find quite rewarding.”

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Book SynopsisPosits an underlying religious impetus for modernity in Mexico, claiming that the Catholic Church nursed a reform movement that ultimately affected many of the same changes as the Protestant Reformation.Trade Review“This arresting study couples substance and style to transform what could have been a dry treatise on internecine clerical debates about dogma and inner spirituality into an intriguing and lively examination of the character of Mexican modernity sure to complicate our understandings of nineteenth-century liberal thought.”—Allen Wells, Bowdoin College“Voekel's engaging history of the debates surrounding burials and cemetaries in late colonial Mexico provides a fresh perspective on the origins of nationalist sentiments in Latin America. Her creative reading of wills and other archival materals will inspire historians and anthropologists to think in new ways about the role of religion in early liberal thought.”—Deborah Poole, New School UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Baroque Backdrop 2. The Reformation in Mexico City 3. Freeing the Virtuous Individual 4. The Battle for Church Burials 5. Piety, Power, and Politics 6. The Ideology Articulated 7. The Rise of Medical Empiricism 8. The Heir Apparent Conclusion Postscript Appendix Archives Notes Primary Sources Secondary Sources

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Book SynopsisPosits an underlying religious impetus for modernity in Mexico, claiming that the Catholic Church nursed a reform movement that ultimately affected many of the same changes as the Protestant Reformation.Trade Review“This arresting study couples substance and style to transform what could have been a dry treatise on internecine clerical debates about dogma and inner spirituality into an intriguing and lively examination of the character of Mexican modernity sure to complicate our understandings of nineteenth-century liberal thought.”—Allen Wells, Bowdoin College“Voekel's engaging history of the debates surrounding burials and cemetaries in late colonial Mexico provides a fresh perspective on the origins of nationalist sentiments in Latin America. Her creative reading of wills and other archival materals will inspire historians and anthropologists to think in new ways about the role of religion in early liberal thought.”—Deborah Poole, New School UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Baroque Backdrop 2. The Reformation in Mexico City 3. Freeing the Virtuous Individual 4. The Battle for Church Burials 5. Piety, Power, and Politics 6. The Ideology Articulated 7. The Rise of Medical Empiricism 8. The Heir Apparent Conclusion Postscript Appendix Archives Notes Primary Sources Secondary Sources

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Book SynopsisDemonstrates the centrality of Gloria Anzaldúas concept of spiritual mestizaje to the queer feminist Chicana theorists life and thought, and its utility as a framework for interpreting contemporary Chicana narratives.Trade Review“Spiritual Mestizaje offers brilliant readings of some of the most significant Chicana writers and artists of our era. It is indispensible to understanding anew the broad spiritual and social significance of U.S. ethnic cultures. In this book, Theresa Delgadillo lucidly demonstrates how the call for social justice made by contemporary Chicana writers also affirms the imperative for spiritual growth. By examining representations of spirituality in major Chicana literary and filmic texts, Delgadillo deftly considers how religious practices inform transformations of consciousness. She weaves together two central components of Chicana literature to prove that they work in tandem in the continuing quest for respect, equality, and enlightenment.”—Rafael Pérez-Torres, University of California, Los Angeles“Building on Gloria Anzaldúa’s groundbreaking theory-praxis of spiritual activism, Theresa Delgadillo offers a bold, innovative analysis of the contributions that a politics of spirit can make to critical resistance and individual-collective subject formation. Spiritual Mestizaje should be required reading for anyone interested in contemporary women-of-color theory, postcolonial thought, feminist/womanist studies, religious studies, and/or theology.”—AnaLouise Keating, editor of The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader“Theresa Delgadillo’s commitment to ‘the social practice of imagination’ carries Chicana/o studies to a new level of maturity through a skillful focus on spiritual mestizaje and social justice as they are inscribed in the work of eight Chicana writers. We travel in literary and spiritual realms where authors have explored with extraordinary inventiveness the ways that people and institutions have struggled to regulate sexualized female bodies. And thankfully, the religious vision of Gloria Anzaldúa now receives its fuller illumination and application in this borderlands of words, feelings, images, and diversities that map a new geography of critical work.”—Davíd Carrasco, Harvard Divinity School“Delgadillo's study makes a compelling case for the way that Chicana narratives imagine and enact alternative spiritualities, and how those spiritualities can offer new strategies for conceiving of individual and collective subject formation.” -- Stella Setka * Modern Fiction Studies *“In addition to making Alcalá’s fascinating novels more widely known, Delgadillo skillfully illustrates how the Anzaldúan paradigm, particularly as refurbished through her elaboration of spiritual mestizaje, remains powerfully relevant for contemporary Chicana feminist practices.” -- John Morán González * American Literature *”Delgadillo offers incisive readings of key contemporary Chicana writers and filmmakers, but more importantly she presents a framework for ‘the analysis of religion and spirituality in borderlands Chicana narrative.’ The first chapter is a critical tour de force, developing a theory of spiritual mestizaje, an epistemology in which social justice, spirituality, politics, and narrative form come into play with memory and oppositional history. The author deftly examines the disciplinary points of contact to situate her critical intervention in recent scholarship. . . . Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; general readers.” -- E. Rodriguez y Gibson * Choice *“Spiritual Mestizaje represents a rich and nuanced contribution to the field of Chicano studies as she meticulously uncovers hitherto unexplored facets of spirituality and popular expressions of religiosity as central to gendered processes of identity formation.” -- Nuala Finnegan * Journal of American Studies *“[A] timely and groundbreaking contribution to the study of religion." -- Karen Mary Davalos * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. A Theory of Spiritual Mestizaje 2. Bodies of Knowledge 3. Sacred Fronteras 4. Border Secrets: Gender, Judaism, and Indigenous Worldviews in the Americas 5. "Bad Religion" Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDemonstrates the centrality of Gloria Anzaldúas concept of spiritual mestizaje to the queer feminist Chicana theorists life and thought, and its utility as a framework for interpreting contemporary Chicana narratives.Trade Review“Spiritual Mestizaje offers brilliant readings of some of the most significant Chicana writers and artists of our era. It is indispensible to understanding anew the broad spiritual and social significance of U.S. ethnic cultures. In this book, Theresa Delgadillo lucidly demonstrates how the call for social justice made by contemporary Chicana writers also affirms the imperative for spiritual growth. By examining representations of spirituality in major Chicana literary and filmic texts, Delgadillo deftly considers how religious practices inform transformations of consciousness. She weaves together two central components of Chicana literature to prove that they work in tandem in the continuing quest for respect, equality, and enlightenment.”—Rafael Pérez-Torres, University of California, Los Angeles“Building on Gloria Anzaldúa’s groundbreaking theory-praxis of spiritual activism, Theresa Delgadillo offers a bold, innovative analysis of the contributions that a politics of spirit can make to critical resistance and individual-collective subject formation. Spiritual Mestizaje should be required reading for anyone interested in contemporary women-of-color theory, postcolonial thought, feminist/womanist studies, religious studies, and/or theology.”—AnaLouise Keating, editor of The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader“Theresa Delgadillo’s commitment to ‘the social practice of imagination’ carries Chicana/o studies to a new level of maturity through a skillful focus on spiritual mestizaje and social justice as they are inscribed in the work of eight Chicana writers. We travel in literary and spiritual realms where authors have explored with extraordinary inventiveness the ways that people and institutions have struggled to regulate sexualized female bodies. And thankfully, the religious vision of Gloria Anzaldúa now receives its fuller illumination and application in this borderlands of words, feelings, images, and diversities that map a new geography of critical work.”—Davíd Carrasco, Harvard Divinity School“Delgadillo's study makes a compelling case for the way that Chicana narratives imagine and enact alternative spiritualities, and how those spiritualities can offer new strategies for conceiving of individual and collective subject formation.” -- Stella Setka * Modern Fiction Studies *“In addition to making Alcalá’s fascinating novels more widely known, Delgadillo skillfully illustrates how the Anzaldúan paradigm, particularly as refurbished through her elaboration of spiritual mestizaje, remains powerfully relevant for contemporary Chicana feminist practices.” -- John Morán González * American Literature *”Delgadillo offers incisive readings of key contemporary Chicana writers and filmmakers, but more importantly she presents a framework for ‘the analysis of religion and spirituality in borderlands Chicana narrative.’ The first chapter is a critical tour de force, developing a theory of spiritual mestizaje, an epistemology in which social justice, spirituality, politics, and narrative form come into play with memory and oppositional history. The author deftly examines the disciplinary points of contact to situate her critical intervention in recent scholarship. . . . Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; general readers.” -- E. Rodriguez y Gibson * Choice *“Spiritual Mestizaje represents a rich and nuanced contribution to the field of Chicano studies as she meticulously uncovers hitherto unexplored facets of spirituality and popular expressions of religiosity as central to gendered processes of identity formation.” -- Nuala Finnegan * Journal of American Studies *“[A] timely and groundbreaking contribution to the study of religion." -- Karen Mary Davalos * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. A Theory of Spiritual Mestizaje 2. Bodies of Knowledge 3. Sacred Fronteras 4. Border Secrets: Gender, Judaism, and Indigenous Worldviews in the Americas 5. "Bad Religion" Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhat has happened to religion in its present manifestations? Containing contributions from distinguished scholars from disciplines, such as: philosophy, political theory, anthropology, classics, and religious studies, this book seeks to address this question.Trade Review"If the idea of political theology seemed anachronistic to many liberal thinkers in the twentieth century, in the twenty-first century-and especially since September 11-it has become urgent and unavoidable, essential for making sense of our current global situation. Hent de Vries and Lawrence Sullivan's Political Theologies constitutes the single most important collection of essays to date on a topic that is at once classic and contemporary, foundational and aporetic. These essays approach the multiple intersections of the political and the theological in the ancient, modern, and 'post-secular' worlds as both positive, mutually reinforcing, and necessary relationships, and violent, contradictory, and even impossible encounters. De Vries's Introduction masterfully surveys the varieties of the political-theological conjunction and presents a powerful analysis of its immanent excesses and paradoxical reversals, its terrifying histories and its transformative, even redemptive potentiality." -- -Kenneth Reinhard University of California, Los Angeles "Political Theologies is an outstanding collection of creative essays on the cutting edge of political theology. The essays bring new and original perspectives that change the terrain and make this volume an indispensable benchmark for future discussions. It is a 'must read' and an invaluable resource for both religious and theological studies. Anyone interested in political theology will be rewarded by its rich diversity. I highly recommend it." -- -Francis Schussler Fiorenza Stillman Professor, Harvard Divinity School " ... Smart and eclectic ..." -Journal of Church and State "This splendid volume will be essential reading for anyone who wants to explore the whole terrain of contemporary 'political theologies' through which this question is addressed." -Faith and Theology "This volume makes a vital contribution to an academy increasingly focused on questions emerging from the interstices of political theory, philosophy, and the study of religion, and to a broader world struggling to understand and adapt to the changes that have come with globalization and revitalized religion. Each essay is grounded in first-rate scholarship, but none of them plays it safe. Whether offering incisive theoretical reflections on political theology or proposing startling analyses of the French veiling controversy, these essays will change the way we think about religion in a post-secular world." -- -Tyler Roberts Grinnell College "A major lankmark in interdisciplinary studies of religion's function in the public sphere, Political Theologies in now the standard reference in this field that dates back to the second century B.C. but has returned with special urgency in the past decade." -Christianity and Literature "There is no more important topic today than the role of religion in public life. It is vital in both peace and war, debate and consensus, democracy and repression, nationalism and transnational humanitarian action. For anyone wishing to survey the range of theoretical perspectives on this theme, this collection by Hent de Vries and Lawrence Sullivan is indispensable. It offers the single best assemblage of sources for understanding not only political theologies, but issues of pluralism, secularism, and contending ideas of the human that they raise." -- -Craig Calhoun Social Science Research Council "The wholly unanticipated reemergence of religion into the realm of politics and public policy, which is happening all over the world, is puzzling and worrisome to some people. Many explanations for this surprising development have been advanced, none fully satisfactory. Now this volume brings together some of the keenest and best-informed analysis yet available, from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. It sets a new gold standard for future attempts to understand the growing role of religion in the twenty-first century." -- -Harvey Cox Hollis Professor of Divinity, Harvard University "This book...will become increasingly important for the future of pentecostal studies." -- -Amos Yong Pneuma

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Book SynopsisThis book proposes the “formless” as a way of thinking through the impasses of contemporary politics. The writing of the formless, as it can be traced in the work of Lezama Lima and the Cuban Revolution, is the point of departure in thinking through the relationship between politics and time.Trade Review"Deep and dazzling. The Writing of the Formless dismantles or powerfully threatens the very basis of much of what today wants to present itself as 'properly leftist' thought but also the equally paralyzing liberal-democratic administration of things: both ideologies are anchored in disavowed understandings of temporality. This is a groundbreaking, extraordinary book that will mark a before and after in Latinamericanism." -- -Alberto Moreiras Texas A&M University

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Book SynopsisThis book proposes the formless as a way of thinking through the impasses of contemporary politics. The writing of the formless, as it can be traced in the work of Lezama Lima and the Cuban Revolution, is the point of departure in thinking through the relationship between politics and time.Trade Review"Deep and dazzling. The Writing of the Formless dismantles or powerfully threatens the very basis of much of what today wants to present itself as 'properly leftist' thought but also the equally paralyzing liberal-democratic administration of things: both ideologies are anchored in disavowed understandings of temporality. This is a groundbreaking, extraordinary book that will mark a before and after in Latinamericanism." -- -Alberto Moreiras Texas A&M University

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Book SynopsisA collection of essays by Orthodoxy, Catholic, and Protestant scholars on Christianity's relationship to liberal democracy and the legacy of Emperor Constantine for Christian political thought.Trade Review"Many of us in the field of political theology are poorer for the lack of conversation most of us experience between Eastern and Western political theologies. Even if we are open and sympathetic to one another-and historically that is a big 'if'-the traditions are so distinct from one another that few can claim expertise in both, and so we continue to focus narrowly on our own traditions. This volume represents a welcome change to this pattern, opening a conversation between theologians across Eastern and Western traditions on the timely topics of church and state, democracy, and liberalism." -- -Elizabeth Phillips Tutor in Theology and Ethics, Westcott House, CambridgeTable of ContentsIntroduction: Outrunning Constantine's Shadow Aristotle Papanikolaou and George E. Demacopoulos The Post-Communist Situation Moral Argument in the Human Rights Debate of the Russian Orthodox Church Kristina Stoeckl Post-Communist Orthodox Countries and Secularization: The Lausti Case and the Fracture of Europe Pascal Hammerli Political Theologies: Protestant-Catholic-Orthodox Conversations Power to the People: Orthodoxy, Consociational Democracy, and the Move beyond Phyletism Luke Bretherton Power, Protest, and Perichoresis: On Being Church in a Troubled World Mary Doak Strange Fruit: Augustine, Liberalism, and the Good Samaritan Eric Gregory An Orthodox Encounter with Liberal Democracy Emmanuel Clapsis Democracy and the Dynamics of Death: Orthodox Reflections on the Origin, Purpose, and Limits of Politics Perry T. Hamalis "I Have Overcome the World": The Church, the Liberal State, and Christ's Two Natures in the Russian Politics of Theosis Nathaniel Wood Constantine's Shadow: Historical Perspectives Emperors and Bishops of Constantinople (324-431) Timothy D. Barnes Disowning Constantinian Christianity Peter Iver Kaufman "You Cannot have a Church without an Empire": Political Orthodoxy in Byzantium James Skedros Roman Catholicism and Democracy: The Post-conciliar Era Brian Hehir An Apophatic Approach How (Not) to be a Political Theologian Stanley Hauerwas List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction Matthew T. Eggemeier, Peter Joseph Fritz, and Karen V. Guth | 1 Part I: Upheaval Under Capitalism 1. Capital’s “Secret Orders”: A Du Boisian Lens on the Alt- Right and White Supremacy Mark Lewis Taylor | 13 2. Protest at the Void: Theological Challenges to Capitalist Totality Devin Singh | 49 3. As the World Burns: Laudato Si’, the Climate Crisis, and the Limits of Papal Power Mary Doak | 69 Part II: Race, Aesthetics, and Religion 4. Whiteness and Civilization: Shame, Race, and the Rhetoric of Donald Trump Donovan O. Schaefer | 93 5. Rootedness on the Slippery Earth: Migration in a Time of Social Upheaval Nichole M. Flores | 112 6. Christian Responses to the “Revolutionary Aesthetic” of Black Lives Matter Jermaine M. McDonald | 124 Part III: Migration, Labor Movements, and Islam 7. Caught in the Crosshairs: Muslims and Migration Zayn Kassam | 143 8. Iftars, Prayer Rooms, and #DeleteUber: Postsecularity and the Promise/ Perils of Muslim Labor Organizing C. Melissa Snarr | 161 Part IV: Thresholds in Gender, Sexuality, and Christianity 9. Slogan, Women’s Protest, and Religion Kwok Pui-lan | 177 10. LGBTQ+ Politics and the Queer Thresholds of Heresy Ju Hui Judy Han | 195 Acknowledgments | 217 List of Contributors | 219 Index | 221

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Book SynopsisAlthough religious fundamentalism is often thought to be confined to monotheistic âreligions of the bookâ, this study examines the emergence of a fundamentalism rooted in the Shinto tradition and considers its role in shaping postwar Japanese nationalism and politics.

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Book SynopsisProvides an account of the upheaval that took place within the world of Japanese Jodo Shin (True Pure Land) Buddhism when scholar-priest Kiyozawa Manshi initiated modernist reforms. Kiyozawa and his disciples reenvisioned Pure Land teachings as a path to awakening in the present world rather than rebirth in a faraway Pure Land after death.

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Book SynopsisBy combining intellectual history with institutional history, The Revolution of Buddhist Modernism reveals deep connections between Buddhist thought, Buddhist institutions, and national and global politics.Trade ReviewJeff Schroeder addresses the influence of Kiyozawa and his followers with sophistication and in rich detail. His book is a major contribution to our understanding of the modernization of one of the key religious traditions in Japan and of Buddhism in Japan generally." —Michael Conway, Ōtani University"With its interest in both ideas and institutions, this book brings a fresh approach to bear on the study of Buddhist modernism. As a history of ideas, it offers a lucid account of the development of important innovations within Seishinshugi thought, showing how they were enabled by transformations in the political and social sphere. As an institutional history, it illuminates the process through which an organization's erstwhile heretics were able to become its leading intellectual lights." —Melissa Anne-Marie Curley, The Ohio State University

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Book SynopsisThis well-written, well-constructed analysis of the financial thought of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with its insightful analysis of key financial instruments and economic practices, will be an invaluable book for anyone who is interested in, or studying, the three major Abrahamic religions and their financial practices and philosophies.Trade Review'This account of the teachings of the three Abrahamic religions on finance sheds fresh light on the distinctive approach of each. The comparative approach provides valuable insights on the reasons for the condemnation of usurious interest and the moral challenges of contemporary equity and debt-based finance. The study should be essential reading for ministers of religion wanting to deepen their understanding of financial matters, as well as theological and law students concerned with the interface between secular and religious law.' --Rodney Wilson, Emeritus Professor, Durham University, UKTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Defining the issues in religion and finance 2. The three Abrahamic religions 3. Attitudes of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to usury 4. Social policy in the Abrahamic religions 5. Economic framework of the Abrahamic religions 6. What the Abrahamic religions say about contemporary financial practices 7. Partnership based equity instruments 8. Sale based debt instruments 9. The future of interest-free financing 10. Conclusion References Index

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Book SynopsisPlacing the execution sermon in its ritual and literary context, this book explores three interrelated themes - human sinfulness, the economy of conversion, and the nature and function of civil government. This book explores how theological interpretations evolved in relation to larger cultural trends in Early New England.Trade ReviewAdmirably well-organized and clearly written. [Seay] demonstrates a superb grasp of the history of preaching and criminal justice and the cultural history of colonial New England. -- W. Clark Gilpin, University of Chicago Divinity SchoolSeay's book will complement and complete previous scholarship.... [I]t joins several fine books that are together creating a new school of thinking about early American religious history. -- Philip Goff, Director, Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, Indiana University-Purdue University IndianapolisTable of ContentsTable of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: The Contexts of the Execution Sermon Chapter Two: Human Sinfulness Chapter Three: The Economy of Conversion Chapter Four: Civil Government Chapter Five: A New Moral Discourse Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisAn English language work to analyze the Christian renewal in Crimea. Drawing on archives in Odessa, Simferopol, and St Petersburg, it provides both a case study of past and present religious nationalism in Eastern Europe and an examination of the political conflicts and compromises endemic to holy places.Trade ReviewA significant study that enhances scholarly understanding of Russian Orthodox nationalism in the nineteenth century... based on an ambitious set of sources, involving a large published record of primary documents, as well as local and central archives. -- Christine D. Worobec, author of PossessedThis book will be of great interest to scholars interested in Russia as empire, in the development and dissemination of Russian Orthodox nationalism in the nineteenth century, and in the relationship between religion and empire in imperial Russia.... Since it deals to such an extent with the building of many of the sightseeing destinations of present-day Crimea, I would also recommend it to visitors to Crimea who seek a deeper understanding of the peninsula and its history more generally. -- Heather J. Coleman * Journal of Ukrainian Studies *Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of Tablee Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration, Names, and Toponyms Introduction 1. The Limits of Toleration and the Challenges of Conversion 2. From the Temple of Diana to the Cradle of Christianity: Graecophilia and Christian Archaeology 3. Athos in Crimea: A Local Response to the Eastern Question 4. Monasticism Takes Root 5. War: The Crucible of a Holy Place 6. The Legacy of War for Crimean Christianity Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the author traces the influence of religion in Lincoln's speeches and writings, showing how the president unified his strongly democratic politics with a religious moral vision.Trade Review"Table of ContentsTable of Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Toleration versus Freedom 2. Revolutions in Churches and Society 3. "To Form a More Perfect Union" 4. God Is as Man Makes Him 5. Revolutionary-Era Disestablishment 6. Southern Republicanism and Constitutional-Era Disestablishment 7. The Dartmouth College Case Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHoly Fathers, Secular Sons is the first study of the Orthodox clergy''s contribution to Russian society. Prior to the 1860s, clergymen''s sons were not allowed to leave the castelike clergy in large numbers. When permission was granted, they responded by entering free professions and political movements in droves. Challenging the standard view of educated pre-revolutionary Russians as largely westernized, secular, and patriarchal, Laurie Manchester demonstrates that the clergymen''s sons did retain their fathers'' values. This was true even of the minority who became atheists. Drawing on the clergy''s commitment to moral activism, anti-aristocratism, and nationalism, clergymen''s sons believed they could, and should, save Russia. The consequence was a cultural revolution that helped pave the way for the 1917 revolutions.Using a massive array of previously untapped archival and published sourcesincluding lively first-hand autobiographical writings of over two hundred clTrade ReviewWell written, argued, and footnoted, and deserve[s] a place in the canon of primary studies of Russian history. * Choice *This wide-ranging, original volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the role that Russian Orthodoxy, through priests' offspring, played in that country's social and cultural history. It is a model of definitive, exhaustive archival research. * Brandeis University *The author's scholarly apparatus, her extensively documented sources material, and her cultural and sociological analysis offer a coherent and convincing picture of a previously unstudied social class... Her study of the popovichi's contribution to the Russian intelligentsia, Russia's revolutionary path, and national identity forges a crucial missing link in Russian culture's evolutionary chain. * Slavic and East European Journal *Manchester has made a major contribution to the historiography not only of Russia, but of European modernity. Manchester's work supplements and corrects the works of earlier cultural historians, such as Reinhard Bendix and Liah Greenfeld, who have tried to discern religion's role in the rise of modernity. * Church History *Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of Illustrations and Tables Preface Introduction Chapter 1: The Backdrop: Clerical Life and Representations of Popovichi Chapter 2: Popovichi and Their Fathers Judge Other Social Estates Chapter 3: Prescriptive Norms for the Sacred Estate Chapter 4: Clerical Childhood as Heaven on Earth Chapter 5: Martyrdom, Moral Superiority, and a Bursa Education Chapter 6: Holy Exodus: Leaving the Clergy to Impose Clerical Traditions Chapter 7: The Search for Secular Salvation Conclusion Glossary Data on Identifiable PopovichiÆs Personal Texts Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisTwice in this century popular revolts against colonial rule have occured in the Banten district of West Java. These revolts, conducted largely under an Islamic leadership, also proclaimed themselves Communist. Islamic Communism is seemingly a paradox.Trade Review“The book as a whole is well–researched. … No one interested in either Banten, the history of Indonesian communism or in peasant mobilization, can afford to pass up this book.”“Having myself done some research on Tan Malaka’s presence in this region and having met several of the main actors in the scenes discussed in the closing chapters of the book …it is a great pleasure to be able to read this important contribution to our understanding of Banten in revolt.” * Journal of Southeast Asia Studies *

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Book SynopsisBurma’s Mass Lay Meditation Movement: Buddhism and the Cultural Construction of Power describes a transformation in Buddhist practice in contemporary Burma. This revitalization movement has had real consequences for how the oppressive military junta, in power since the early 1960s, governs the country.DrawingTrade Review“Jordt has provided the reader with insights into a Burmese theory of power relations which foreign observers rarely take into account.” * The Irrawaddy *“(Burma’s Mass Lay Meditation Movement) provides a new opening to the discussion on the socio-political culture and political legitimacy in contemporary Burma…will undoubtedly revitalise the debate on various aspects of social and political issues in contemporary Burma.” * Journal of Southeast Asian Studies *“In almost every respect, Ingrid Jordt’s Burma’s Mass Lay Meditation Movement constitutes an impressive piece of scholarship.... In marrying together an insightful analysis of Burmese social and political conditions with a thoughtful consideration of how traditional Buddhist concepts and practices are coming into play in the contemporary context, Jordt presents a rich and illuminating account of modern Burma that has much to offer the reader.” * The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology *“One of the most important things about this book is just how terribly needed it is. There is no other book that takes a cold, hard look at the relation of modernist meditation movements in Burma to the military regime.” * Current Anthropology *“Engaging, well-written and intellectually stimulating.... sheds significant light on the Buddhist background to discontent with the current regime.... The great strength of this book is its central thesis that international criteria for ‘regime performance‘ have little meaning in the Burmese context if the religious sphere is not taken seriously into consideration.” * Pacific Affairs *“Ingrid Jordt presents an insightful account of Burmese Buddhism, lay meditation and the construction of political legitimacy. Her analysis shows the complex ways in which Burmese culture mediates popular beliefs concerning power and millennial expectations. This book will be required reading for students of Buddhism, anthropology, religion, political science, and those with geographic interests in Southeast Asia, and particularly Burma.”“A subtle, sympathetic, and astute examination of lay piety in Burma and its political implications. Jordt combines an insider’s comprehension of Buddhist meditation with a capacity to stand back and take a wider view. The result is a book rich in illuminating insights.”

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Book SynopsisOffers a comprehensive survey and interpretation of contemporary Christian political theology in a newly revised and expanded edition This book presents the latest thinking on the topic of contemporary Christian political theology, with original and constructive essays that represent a range of opinions on various topics. With contributions from expert scholars in the field, it reflects a broad range of methodologies, ecclesial traditions, and geographic and social locations, and provides a sense of the diversity of political theologies. It also addresses the primary resources of the Christian tradition, which theologians draw on when constructing political theologies, and surveys some of the most important figures and movements in political theology. This revised and expanded edition provides the most comprehensive and accessible introduction to this lively and growing area of Christian theology. Organized into five sections,Wiley Blackwell Companion to PoliTable of ContentsNotes on Contributors ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction to the Second Edition 1William T. Cavanaugh and Peter Manley Scott I. Historical Resources: Scripture, Traditions, Liturgy 13 1 Scripture: Old Testament 15Walter Brueggemann 2 Scripture: New Testament 28Christopher Rowland 3 Augustine 41Jean Bethke Elshtain 4 Aquinas 54Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt 5 The Reformation 67Andrew Bradstock 6 Liturgy 80Bernd Wannenwetsch II. Contemporary Political Theologies: Survey 95 7 Eastern Orthodox Thought 97Pantelis Kalaitzidis 8 Carl Schmitt 111Michael Hollerich 9 Karl Barth 125Haddon Willmer 10 Dietrich Bonhoeffer 137Stanley Hauerwas 11 John Courtney Murray 151Michael J. Baxter 12 Anglican Political Theology 164Luke Bretherton 13 Reinhold Niebuhr 178William Werpehowski 14 Feminist Theology, Southern 192Kwok Pui‐lan 15 Feminist Theology, Northern 207Elaine Graham 16 Jürgen Moltmann 222Nicholas Adams 17 Johann Baptist Metz 236J. Matthew Ashley 18 Political Theologies in Asia 250Aloysius Pieris 19 Black Political Theologies 264M. Shawn Copeland 20 Liberation Theology 1: Gustavo Gutiérrez 280Roberto S. Goizueta 21 Liberation Theology 2: Developments and Reception 293Mario I. Aguilar 22 Stanley Hauerwas 306R. R. Reno 23 John Milbank 320Gavin Hyman 24 Anabaptist Political Theologies 333Elizabeth Phillips 25 Political Theologies of Africa 346Emmanuel Katongole III. Constructive Political Theology 361 26 Trinity 363Kathryn Tanner 27 Creation 376Peter Manley Scott 28 Christology 389Raymund Schwager with Wolfgang Palaver 29 Atonement 403Timothy J. Gorringe 30 Spirit 416Mark Lewis Taylor 31 Church 431William T. Cavanaugh 32 Eschatology 444Robert W. Jenson IV. Structures and Movements 457 33 State and Civil Society 459Daniel M. Bell, Jr 34 Democracy 473John W. de Gruchy 35 Critical Theory 487Marsha Aileen Hewitt 36 Postmodernism 502Catherine Pickstock 37 Postcolonialism 516Agnes M. Brazal 38 Political Economy 531Michael S. Northcott 39 Technology and Information 544Michael S. Burdett 40 Grassroots Social Movements 558Joerg Rieger 41 Postsecular Political Theology 572Marcus Pound V. Abrahamic Perspectives 587 42 The Islamic Quest for Sociopolitical Justice 589Bustami Mohamed Khir 43 Abrahamic Theopolitics Revisited: A Jewish View 604Peter Ochs Index 619

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Book SynopsisWhy Politics Can''t be Freed From Religion is an original, erudite, and timely new book from Ivan Strenski. Itinterrogates the central ideas and contexts behind religion, politics, and power, proposing an alternative way in which we should think about these issues in the twenty-first century. A timely and highly original contribution to debates about religion, politics and power and how historic and social influences have prejudiced our understanding of these concepts Proposes a new theoretical framework to think about what these ideas and institutions mean in today&''s society Applies this new perspective to a variety of real-world issues, including insights into suicide bombers in the Middle East Includes radical critiques of the religious and political perspectives of thinkers such as Talal Asad and Michel Foucault Dislodges our conventional thinking about politics and religion, and in doing so, helps make sense of the complexitiTrade Review“Overall the book is an excellent contribution.” (Political Studies Review, 1 January 2013) “But as a powerful myth-buster of some of the great fallacies about religion and politics, or even as a primer in the study of religion for undergraduates, it works very well and would serve to provoke lively debate.” (Modern Believing, 1 April 2012) "The book is written in an accessible and engaging style, and readers who are new to the field of religion and politics will find it readable and helpful". (Religion, September 2010) Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xi 1 When God Plays Politics: Radical Interrogations of Religion, Power, and Politics 1 2 Interrogating ‘Religion’ 8 1. Religion Trouble 8 2. ‘Seeing’ Religion: Six Common Clichés 11 3. Gagging at the Feast of Two Unexamined Assumptions: Religion, All Good or All Bad 14 4. The Religion-Is-No-Good Cliché 21 5. The Second Set of Two Clichés: Religion Is Belief and Belief in God 24 6. ‘Religion’s’ Private Parts 33 7. Powerless in Paradise 35 8. Two Ways to Eliminate ‘Religion’ 36 9. Is Religion Our Phlogiston? An Historical Test Case 39 10. Talal Asad’s ‘Religion’ Trouble 42 11. The Trick of Defining ‘Religion’ 46 12. Owning ‘Religion’ 50 13. How Durkheim Took ‘Ownership’ of ‘Religion’ 55 14. Religion and Its Despisers 59 3 Interrogating ‘Power’ 62 1. Confronting the Paradox of ‘Power’ 62 2. How ‘Power’ Plays Havoc with Thinking about “Institutional Violence” 66 3. Whom Should We Blame? ‘History’ on Trial 70 4. History’s Helper: We Should Also Blame Foucault 81 5. Problematizing Power in South Africa 84 6. Foucault versus Foucault 88 7. Thinking about Power as Auctoritas and Hierarchy 90 8. What More Is to Be Done? Thinking about Power as Auctoritas and Social Force 97 4 Interrogating ‘Politics’ 100 1. Defining ‘Politics’ 100 2. Where There Is No Politics: Despotism and Totalitarianism 102 3. Autonomous Politics 105 4. Where Our ‘Politics’ Makes No Sense 107 5. Politics, the Construct 109 6. Two Pernicious Views of ‘Politics’ 112 7. History Lessons for Professor Morgenthau 116 8. What Constitutionalism Owes the Council of Constance 119 9. The Emergence of the Political . . . from the Religious 123 10. Machiavelli and Luther: Critical Contributions to the Autonomy of Politics 125 11. Foucault’s Fault II: ‘Everything Is Political’ 130 12. The Hidden Fascism of Thinking that Everything Is Political 133 13. Public and Private: No Absolute Line of Demarcation 135 14. Resisting the Panopticon 136 15. Afterword: The Autonomy of ‘Politics’ and the Nation-State 140 5 Testing Interrogations of ‘Religion,’ ‘Power,’ and ‘Politics’: Human Bombers and the Authority of Sacrifice in the Middle East 142 1. Is ‘Suicide’ Bombing Religious? 142 2. Making Too Much of Religion in ‘Suicide’ Bombing: ‘Islamofascism’ 144 3. Dying to Make Too Little of Religion in ‘Suicide’ Bombing: Robert A. Pape 147 4. No Religion in ‘Suicide’ Bombing: Talal Asad 150 5. How Religion Helps Explain Human Bombing 153 6. Human Bombing Is “Catastrophe,” but also a “Triumph” of “Secular Immortality” 155 7. Human Bombing = Jihad + Sacrifice 160 8. Sacrifice or Suicide? 164 9. But Do Any Muslims Really Think Human Bombers Are ‘Sacrifices’? 168 10. Sacrifice Makes Authority 175 11. How and Why Sacrifice Works: The Authority of Sacralization 176 12. How and Why Sacrifice Works: No Free Gifts 180 13. Concluding Remarks 182 References 187 Index 196

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Book SynopsisCongratulations to Luke Bretherton on winning the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing for Christianity and Contemporary Politics! Relations between religious and political spheres continue to stir passionate debates on both sides of the Atlantic. Through a combination of theological reflection and empirical case studies, Bretherton succeeds in offering timely and invaluable insights into these crucial issues facing 21st century societies. Explores the relationship between Christianity and contemporary politics through case studies of faith-based organizations, Christian political activism and welfare provision in the West; these case studies assess initiatives including community organizing, fair trade, and the sanctuary movement Offers an insightful, informative account of how Christians can engage politically in a multi-faith, liberal democracy Integrates debates in political theology with inter-disciplinaryTrade ReviewWinner of the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing! “A deeply hospitable book, which is rooted in evangelical orthodoxy, but is clearly open to public dialogues and unafraid to speak within them in its own accent … [Bretherton’s] account of listening as a Christian political practice is outstanding and inspiring. This is a very fine book, which deserves the attention and engagement of the practical theological community.” (International Journal of Practical Theology, 19 July 2012) “My hope is that the ideas contained here will not remain in the academy but will provide momentum for a challenging Christian encounter with the issues and injustices of our political and social context.” (Modern Believing, 1 April 2012) "[Bretherton] establishes himself in this book as a leading figure in political theology by giving a profound synthetic account of political theory and theology." (Church Times, 2010) "I'll be giving Christianity and Contemporary Politics to my graduate students and others seeking to become authors and academics. It is a model of the kind of book a scholar should be looking to write." (Christian Century, June 2011) "This is a wonderful book, perhaps the best book on contemporary Christianity and politics in liberal nation-states I have read. It is both based in concrete practices and theoretically aware. Most of all, its author exhibits the virtues necessary to undertake such a task: he is generous, faithful, and engaged with real communities of Christians and others. I will be using this book with students, and recommending it to colleagues." (Studies in Christian Ethics, June 2011) "I strongly recommend this book as one of the most fascinating accounts of the relationship between politics and religion in contemporary society. The author has mastered very skillfully several bodies of literature from different disciplines and presented a new synthesis of them. He points a way forward that takes into account traditional ways of understanding religious faith and practice but practiced in the very new and emergent conditions of the twenty-first century." (Politics, Religion & Ideology, December 2011) "This book is important, though not always an easy read. However, the effort will reward those who persevere with new insights about the mission of the church and the witness of the individual Christian. It should prove particularly refreshing to those who train ministers and church-related community workers, as well as to all who struggle with political and community issues within the church in its Big Society." (Reform, 1 May 2011) "Over the past decade political theology has become one of the most energetic (and polemical) conversations in the field of theology. Bretherton makes a signal contribution to these debates as a voice characterized by critical charity. While the field has tended to line up in camps (e.g., Niebuhrians vs. Hauenvasians), Bretherton is eager to affirm what's right in both without shrinking from criticizing either. The great virtue of this book is that it moves the conversation from the abstract environs of national politics and 'church-state' questions to the nitty-gritty environs of the municipal pursuit of the common good (or rather, as Bretherton emphasizes, goods in common). Changing the scope and scale of the question, the book provides a fresh analysis through a series of case studies that are attentive to place - considering, for example, the community organizing of Saul Alinsky (the space of Obama's apprenticeship) as a case of the church concretely impacting the shared space of common goods. Neither beset by worries about Constantinianism, nor motivated by pretensions to Christendom, this book deserves wide attention." (CHOICE, December 2010) "I cannot commend it highly enough." (Regent's Reviews, 1 October 2010) "Bretherton is one of the most helpful voices engaging culture in a way that results in robust witness and faithful Gospel proclamation. And so this book is enthusiastically recommended to all concerned with relevant Christian witness in ever changing Western political situations." (European Journal of Theology, 2010) Table of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgments. Introduction. The Terms and Conditions of Political Life. Religion and Postsecular Politics. Theological Politics and the Ecclesial-Turn. Summary of Aims and Methodology. 1. Faith-Based Organizations and the Emerging Shape of Church–State Relations. Introduction. "Working Together": The Shaping of Relations between the State and Religious Groups in a Multi-Faith Society. Social Cohesion, Social Capital, and the "Salvation" of Civil Society. Liberalism and the Continuing Requirements of Public Reason. Theological Politics and the Question of What Constitutes Faithful Witness. Ecclesiology and the Political Mission of the Church. Summary. 2. Local: Augustine, Alinsky, and the Politics of the Common Good. Introduction. The Alinsky Approach: The Work of Broad-Based Community Organizing. Eschatology, Politics, and the Mutual Ground of the Saeculum. Christian Realism Redivivus? A Thomistic Democratic Politics? Reweaving Civil Society. Politics without Piety Is Pitiless; Piety without Politics Is Pitiful. Summary. 3. National: Christian Cosmopolitanism, Refugees, and the Politics of Proximity. Introduction. Theological Politics and the Liberal Democratic Response to Refugees. Refugees as Bare Life. Bare Life and the Limits of Humanitarianism. Hallowing Bare Life: A Doxological Response. Hallowed Be Thy Name. Sanctuary: The Practice of Hallowing Bare Life. Summary. 4. Global: Consumerism, Fair Trade, and the Politics of Ordinary Time. Introduction. Defining Political Consumerism. Consumerism and the Formation of Desire. Political Consumerism as Apprenticeship in the Virtues. Political Consumerism as Neighbor Love. Fair Trade as Contradiction. Fair Trade, Globalization and the Emergence of Political Consumerism. Ordinary Politics and the Peace of Babylon. Summary. Conclusion: Toward a Politics of Hospitality and a Theology of Politics. Epilogue. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisIn Empowered Witness, author Alan D. Strange examines the doctrine of the spirituality of the church, urging readers to examine the church's power and limits and to repress the urge to politicize it.

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Book Synopsis While female religious have grown to possess a sense of personal authority in issues impacting the laity, and have come to engage in social-issue-oriented activities, religious institutions have traditionally viewed men as the decision-makers. One Faith, Two Authorities examines the tensions of policy and authority within the gendered nature of the Catholic Church. Jeanine Kraybilllooks at the influence of Catholic elites—specifically within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious—and their opinions on public policy and relevant gender dynamics with regard to healthcare, homosexuality, immigration, and other issues. She considers the female religious’ inclusive positions as well as their opposition to ACA for bills that would be rooted in institutional positions on procreation, contraception, or abortion. Kraybill also systematically examines the claims of the 2012 Doctrinal Assessment agains

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